Top 10 Family Read Alouds for Older Children

Written By: The Good and the Beautiful Published On: May 8, 2025

A Message from Jenny Phillips

If you know anything about The Good and the Beautiful, you know we are passionate about good literature and the impact it has on families. Today, I will be sharing with you my top 10 recommended read-aloud books for families and why I chose these books. This list is designed for families with children in grades 4–12.

In this video, I will also be giving a few tips and ideas for making read-aloud time for your family a powerful, beautiful, and effective experience.

I’m Jenny Phillips, the founder of The Good and the Beautiful. We've created resources that have been used by millions of families to help raise their children in beauty and light. Learn more at The Good and the Beautiful website and The Good and the Beautiful Book List, a searchable list of more than 1,000 parent-approved recommended books for kids of all ages.

You really couldn’t go wrong reading any of the books on our book list, but if I could only give your family 10 books to read together, my top-recommended family read-aloud books are as follows:

Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John. This book is the epitome of a Good and Beautiful book: The writing is beautiful, the story is incredibly engaging, and it is packed with educational and moral value. I loved the plotline of this book and so did my children. Set in the Swiss Alps, Lucien’s anger causes a terrible accident that cripples a neighbor boy named Danny. Danny’s sister Annette vows revenge on the boy who caused it. One reason I love this story of forgiveness is that it is packed with faith-based content. Unlike in times past, the vast majority of children’s books being published today are stripped of God and faith.

I’m confident this story will be one that will leave a lasting impact on the hearts of your children. The author, Patricia St John, who died in 1993, was also a nurse and a missionary. She has written other children's books that are excellent, but this is definitely my favorite book by her.
The Winged Watchman by Hilda van Stockum. This beautiful and exciting story set in the Netherlands in World War II is based on the experiences of the author’s Dutch relatives. The story centers around a family who is involved in the Dutch underground and lives in a windmill called “The Winged Watchman.” When the family discovers a downed English pilot hiding on their property, adventure ensues. Through beautiful writing, we experience the struggles and triumphs woven into this powerful story. I also love that the story features a family whose religious faith is deeply meaningful to them.
Heidi by Johanna Spyri is one of my all-time favorite books. Heidi is a heartwarming story of a young girl in the Swiss Alps whose kindness, optimism, and love of life have a transforming effect on all those around her. This engaging story is skillfully written with imagery, beautiful description, and rich vocabulary. Readers also learn about Switzerland, the Alps, and life in the 1800s. I have said before that if I could give a middle-grade child only one book to read in a summer, this is the one I would give them.
Carry on, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham is a Newbery Medal-winning, fictionalized biography that tells the inspiring, exciting story of Nat Bowditch—a boy who ends up revolutionizing navigation and saving many lives during the American Revolution. With clean language and brilliant writing, the book teaches a love of learning and shares messages of positivity, persistence, and hard work.
My Name Is Sally Little Song by Brenda Woods. Sally and her family are slaves on a plantation. When members of their family are about to be sold, the family decides to make a run for it. They travel through the swampland trying to reach Seminole territory, where they hope to find more freedom. Please note for younger or sensitive children, this book contains some heavy subjects, such as death, slavery, and the mistreatment of enslaved people. However, the author does a great job of not being too graphic and keeping a positive tone amidst the severe trials the young protagonists face. I feel it is so important that parents read and discuss books about hard things in history with their children—things we need to know so we never allow it to be repeated. However, I also like to make sure that our children don’t read too many heavy books in a row, or too many overall, so it doesn’t desensitize and depress our spirits.
The Good Master by Kate Seredy is one that is a delightful read, but it is also one that I wouldn’t start out with if your family is new to more gentle-style, older literature. This worthy Newbery Honor winner is set on a Hungarian ranch in pre-World War I Europe. As the novel begins, Jancsi is excited to go pick up his cousin Kate, whom he has never met. She is coming from Budapest to recover from measles in the country. But Kate is not quite what Jancsi was expecting. The book paints a vibrant, detailed portrait of life in the Hungarian countryside as Jancsi learns to appreciate his hard-working rural life, and Kate, a young, motherless girl, learns the meaning of love and family. As an interesting side note, Kate Seredy originally wrote this book in English, but English is not her first language—an amazing fact considering the rich writing full of imagery and exceptional sensory language. Books that take place in other countries allow a lot of opportunities for discussion. I suggest pausing the book occasionally or at the end of your daily reading to ask your children questions, such as, “Do you think you’d like living on the ranch, why or why not?” or “How does the way they celebrate Easter differ from ours?” or “What message stuck out to you in this chapter?” Family discussion about books can be a really beautiful bonding experience.
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken. This little-known classic, written over 50 years ago, is a hidden treasure. With an exemplary writing style, Joan Aiken pulls readers into the lives of young heroines who face some unexpected trials with perseverance and kindness: Bonnie, who lives grandly in the manor house of Willoughby Chase in the English countryside, and Sylvia, her poor cousin from the city. This is an exciting and rewarding book. In my opinion, some parts of the book may be too sad for children under nine, but the story does end happily.
Red Sails to Capri by Ann Weil. This book, which is full of humor and fun, is set in 1826 on the Italian island of Capri. The story begins as three men come sailing into the remote island on a beautiful ship with red sails. They are a Danish philosopher, an English painter, and a French writer. The main character, a boy named Michele [Mih-KEL-ay], comes to know these men when they stay at his father’s inn. Each of the three men are there searching for something different, and they are all very interested in exploring a cave on the island that all the islanders greatly fear. The writing is skilled, the characters are lively, the story is engaging, and the dialogue is clever and funny while remaining wholesome. I laughed out loud often and smiled through most of this book. I also learned more about life in Italy in times past. The book is completely wholesome with no potty language or inappropriate behavior made to look funny—a standard met by all books on the Good and the Beautiful book list.
Daughter of the Mountains by Louise Rankin. This fictional Newbery Honor Book published in 1948 starts in the mountains of Tibet and follows the journey of young Momo into India to find her stolen dog Pempa. The story is engaging and fascinating as well as wholesome and educational. Momo travels alone and doesn’t follow modern safety standards about strangers, but it was a different time and place, and reading the book aloud allows you to discuss this fact with your children and remind them of safety standards for today. This well-written story is very highly recommended! Please note that the book includes descriptions of some eastern religious traditions and provides a great opportunity for discussion on similarities and differences between your family's beliefs and others.
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. This book has won several awards. That doesn’t always mean a book is wholesome and worthy, but Esperanza Rising is a wholesome and worthy book. The story is beautiful and very engaging. Esperanza has a life of wealth and comfort on her family’s ranch in Mexico. But, when tragedy shatters Esperanza’s world, she is forced to flee to California and settle in a camp for Mexican farmworkers. This story is packed with educational value and has uplifting messages about family, loyalty, hard work, attitude, gratitude, enduring trials, friendship, honesty, kindness, and more.

The Good and the Beautiful is passionate about helping families and children return to a love of literature that is wholesome and worthy. There is an absolutely beautiful world of books out there—old and new—that teach respect, kindness, and honesty through wonderfully written, engaging, and inspiring stories. When you immerse your children in this kind of literature, over time you will see your children become more kind, more respectful, and more positive.